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Kamogawa Genji
Kamogawa Genji (鴨川 源二,'' lit. kamogawa genji'') is a deuteragonist in Hajime no Ippo. His influence on the story rivals those of Takamura Mamoru's and Miyata Ichirou's; all three inspire Makunouchi Ippo to continue boxing. He is a retired boxer who founded the Kamogawa Boxing Gym. He acts as the trainer of both Ippo and Takamura, as well as a cornerman for the boxers under Shinoda Tomoyuki. His surname is Kamogawa. In Japan, surnames are listed before given names. History Kamogawa worked as a prizefighter in Japan shortly after the end of the Second World War. He has exchanged blows with former prizefighter Nekota Ginpachi multiple times and fought Ralph Anderson on an official level once. Despite defeating Ralph, Kamogawa broke both his fists in the process, which ended his career thereafter. Sometime later Kamogawa opened his own boxing gym, where he trained the future manager of the gym Yagi-chan, the then-OPBF Featherweight champion Miyata-san, and the budding counter specialist Miyata Ichirou. By chance, he encountered Takamura Mamoru and convinced him to enter the world of boxing under his tutorship. Takamura then scouted Aoki Masaru, Kimura Tatsuya, and Makunouchi Ippo to the gym. After meeting Ippo, Kamogawa was skeptical about the idea of him becoming a professional, due to his appearance and attitude. In order to conclude what his chances were, he decided to have him spar against boxing prodigy Miyata Ichirou. During the spar, Ippo went down several times and was unable to land a single hit on Miyata before losing via knockout. However, his durability, stamina and determination, earned Kamogawa's respect and a membership to his gym. Kamogawa decided to supervise Ippo's training personally (which he did for no one other than Takamura) and announced that he would have a rematch against Miyata. During the months leading up to the rematch, Kamogawa taught Ippo how to perform an uppercut, and put him through intensive training in order to directly face the counter instead of avoiding it. In an attempt to have both aspiring boxers motivated, he instigated a rivalry between them, by constantly making comments about Ippo's growth. Prior to Ippo's pro debut, Kamogawa ordered him to train with Takamura in order to understand the hardships of the sport. In the match against Oda Yusuke, Kamogawa avoided a doctor stoppage by applying ice and lotion to Ippo's cut allowing him to continue the fight which he ultimately won via knockout. It is revealed that he seeks to raise a world champion whose boxing is principled on fighting spirit, not just talent or skill. He is repeatedly proud of Takamura and Ippo, though he rarely expresses it, but it is Ippo he regards as his "last son". He has thrown in the towel or forfeited the match only twice, and outside of that loss, his boxers have won every last one of their combined 47 matches. Though he chose not to train Itagaki Manabu, he is present in his matches as a cornerman. He is equally as surprised at Itagaki's speed and boxing skills as he is at the talents of his own trainees. Match History Kamogawa officially fought against Ralph Anderson. Though winning by KO, he broke both of his fists to the point of ending his career thereafter by overusing the Tekken, or Iron Fist technique. It is also mentioned that Kamogawa had multiple boxing matches against Nekota Ginpachi as a prizefighter, two of which he lost, two of which he won, and another that ended a draw, though he insists that he won the last one. Appearance An old and retired boxer, Kamogawa now lacks the build required to make him look like a boxer at all. He is short (due to old age), with countless wrinkles most prominent under his eyes and on his upper lip as well as age spots. Kamogawa's hair has turned gray from old age, and it appears from his lack of hair overall that he is balding as well (though hair is still apparent behind his head). He has thick eyebrows and a small curly tuft of hair growing on his temple, large eyes, and black pupils. Before Retirement It is shown in numerous flashbacks that Kamogawa had once fought as a prizefighter in Japan. His body was depicted as flexible yet noticeably muscular, with hardened facial features and a full head of dark colored hair. When placed next to other core characters of the story, Kamogawa's younger appearance can be comparatively plain with very little special features to be spoken of. Personality Kamogawa is the head coach of the Kamogawa Boxing Gym and is close friends with Nekota Ginpachi and Hama Dankichi. As a coach he is strict and holds high expectations for his trainees but is also shown to genuinely care for the well-being of his fighters (albeit in a more silenced, aloof way), forging a strong bond with each and every one of them through trust and spirit. He possesses an extremely sharp sense for boxing and a large wealth of knowledge in regards to boxing, able to give strategies to his fighters that often cause turnabouts in matches. He is shown throughout the series to be most proud of his two most prominent boxers: Takamura Mamoru and Makunouchi Ippo. While his body may have aged, it is shown that he is still capable of performing a series of boxing techniques as seen in his mini-fight with Nekota, indicating a strong muscle memory of boxing. To everyone's surprise, Kamogawa performed a counter against Takamura while drunk at a party, triggering Takamura to knock him out in retaliation. Kamogawa is also appears stern, frank, and cranky, with a temper as short as Takamura's. He does not hesitate in telling what he thinks and feels, even though how harsh they may be. This is evidenced by his treatment on Fukui Kyosuke, when the ranked boxer came to spar with Ippo. However, he intended to change the former's mind from retiring. This shows that most of Kamogawa's seemingly mean attitude to other people have had good intentions. Fighting Style Not much is known about Kamogawa's prior fighting style other than his weight class and his natural in-fighting tendencies. It is implied by Nekota that he used both an orthodox and southpaw style, as he said to Genji: "Your right cross hasn't faded at all," then told Ippo: "If I didn't look into his eyes, I would've taken his left cross." He invented Tekken, a destructive left body blow which leaves an imprint of a fist behind. He possesses a stubborn and unyielding fighting spirit, which he seeks to pass down to a successor in the hopes of challenging the world. Techniques *Tekken *Counter Gallery Mitt work..jpeg|Coach doing mitt work with Ippo. Kak1.jpeg|Coach teaching Ippo the upper. Kak3.jpeg|Coach in the manga. Kak2.jpeg|Kawogawa Genji. Kak4.jpeg|Young Kamogawa. Ippo and Kamogawa.jpg|Makunouchi Ippo and (young)Kamogawa Genji on the season 3 intro Kamogawa courage.jpg|Kamogawa's courage Quotes *''"I expected someone who could become a pro because you recruited him, but what is that? I don't feel any fighting spirit!"'' - To Takamura the first time Ippo joined the gym *''"Not everyone who works hard is rewarded. But! All those who succeed have worked hard!"'' -To Takamura before his fight with Bryan Hawk * "Kid" -Usually calls ippo Kid. Trivia *Despite being very knowledgeable about boxing and having years of experience with different techniques and styles, Kamogawa believes that "techniques are nothing against strength"Hajime no Ippo chapter 5, page 13. *As of Chapter 1012, Kamogawa is still able to do mitts hitting with Ippo and Takamura consecutively at his old age. References Category:Male characters Category:Characters from Japan Category:Kamogawa Boxing Gym Category:Bantamweights Category:In Fighters Category:Post-War Prize Fighters Category:Retired boxers Category:Trainers Category:Boxers Category:Characters